Norwegian forward Mathias Emilio Pettersen, 25, has signed a two-year contract with Djurgården IF, the Stockholm-based SHL club announced on Monday.

“I’m super excited to play the next two years with Djurgården,” Pettersen is quoted in the club’s announcement. “I’m incredibly excited to play in front of a packed Hovet (the team’s home rink) and the best fans in all of hockey.”

For Pettersen, this marks a return to Europe after playing overseas since 2014.

“He has come a long way in North America with college hockey and a number of years in the AHL,” said Djurgården GM Niklas Wikegård. “Emilio is already very talented, but we believe we can make him even better.”

Pettersen was born in Manglerud, Norway but at the age of 14, went overseas to play youth hockey in Connecticut. He then spent two seasons in the USHL and was drafted by the Calgary Flames in the sixth round, 167th overall, in 2018. That was followed by two years at the University of Denver.

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Between 2020 and 2025, the 5-foot-10, 178-pound Pettersen played 322 AHL regular-season and playoff games for the Stockton Heat, Calgary Wranglers and Texas Stars, recording 164 points and 144 penalty minutes. In 2024, he was traded by the Flames to the Dallas Stars for Riley Damiani, but the only NHL games he played for either organization were in the preseason.

Internationally, Pettersen has represented Norway at two IIHF U-18 World Championships and one World Junior Championship – all at the Division I Group A level – and at two senior-elite-level World Championships. 

Pettersen joins a Djurgården team that was just promoted to the SHL from the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan but is trying to build a competitive roster. The team will notably feature two 18-year-old forwards who were chosen in the first round of this year’s NHL Entry Draft – Victor Eklund and Anton Frondell.

In addition to Pettersen, Eklund and Frondell, Djurgården’s lineup for the upcoming season will also include veteran center Marcus Krüger, who was a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Chicago Blackhawks, Finnish right winger Jesse Ylönen, Swedish defenseman Gustav Lindström, and Swedish goaltender Magnus Hellberg.

Photo © Bob Frid-Imagn Images.

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